Broccoli Cheese Soup and Irish Soda Raisin Bread

This is a surprisingly easy meal to make and perfect for a rainy day to warm you up. Full of fresh, healthy ingredients and low in calories! It passed the 'Hungry Man' test, too, as Hubby loves it!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

2 large heads of Broccoli

2 stalks of Celery

1/2 cup chopped Mild White Onion

32 oz Chicken Broth (low sodium)

8 oz block Swiss Cheese, grated

4 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 cups milk (I used 1 percent)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chop Broccoli into bite size pieces, discarding tough stems. Chop Celery and Onion.

Place vegetables and broth in a large saucepan or small soup pot. Bring to boiling; reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender.

(Once vegetables are tender, at this point you can reduce the heat to low and cover and keep warm while you prepare the Irish Soda Bread. During the last 10 minutes of baking, bring the soup back up to a simmer and add remaining ingredients to finish off.)

In a medium bowl combine milk, cornstarch, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk well until cornstarch is thoroughly dissolved. Add to cooked vegetables.

Cook, stirring constantly at a low simmer, until thickened and bubbly.

Remove from heat. 

Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted through.

 Irish Soda Raisin Bread

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup White flour

1  1/2 cups Whole Wheat flour

1/4 cup flax seed meal or additional 1/4 cup WW flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar

1/2 cup Sugar

1 beaten Egg

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, melted

3/4 cup Buttermilk

1/2 - 1 cup raisins (depending on how well you like raisins)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together all dry ingredients except raisins in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center, pour in wet ingredients (butter, egg, buttermilk)

Mix together to form a pliable dough. Add raisins while mixing.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 10 times or until dough is no longer sticky. Form into a circular loaf.

Cut a cross on top

Bake on ungreased baking sheet in pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped.

Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

This bread is best served right away, as it tends to dry out after a day or so. It is delicious toasted the next morning for breakfast. Wrap well in aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator for next day serving, or in the freezer for long term storage.